Smoke, Fire & Brew IL
Rating
1638
peak 1638
Contests
22
in the data
First seen
latest 2023-09-03
Best ToY finish
#870
Master 2019
Grand champs
5
3 reserve
Category wins
8
20 podiums
Overall top-10s
14
of 22 contests
Avg finish
top 20%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
379.39 ▼
last 5 vs career avg 400.62 (-21.23)
Walk rate
82%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
6
and counting
Best single call
178.8572
Consistency
±125.45
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 170.05 · weakest Brisket (164.35)
Road miles
1683
mi across 21 mapped stops · furthest 221 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ has finished one call ahead of Smoke, Fire & Brew 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
Little Wolf Foods has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
Furlongs Smoke & Seafood has come out ahead in 5 of their 7 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of SmokinGhost BBQ in 9 of their 10 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Best of the Midwest BBQ is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 3 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 0.0112 points of the Grand Championship at Best of the Midwest BBQ (2021-10-22).
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 40-team field at Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown.
📈 Riding a hot streak
Currently on a 5-contest overall top-10 run.
🐣 Announced themselves early
Finished 1 of 22 at their very first tracked contest, Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival Backyard Competition Presented by Kenney's Ace Hardware(BACKYARD ONLY) ().
Teams like this (closest power rating, IL first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 19 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 177.7028 | 164.5372 | 170.05 | top 19% |
| Pork Ribs | 22 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 178.8572 | 155.3944 | 168.87 | top 23% |
| Pork | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 178.2972 | 160.5256 | 169.56 | top 35% |
| Brisket | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.6800 | 155.3944 | 164.35 | top 50% |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| IL | 10 | 4 | top 20% |
| WI | 9 | 1 | top 19% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 11 | 4 | top 16% |
| Large (40+) | 8 | 1 | top 25% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2022 (6 contests)
- Cooks mostly in IL (12 of 22 contests)
- Most-entered category: Pork Ribs (22 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival Backyard Competition Presented by Kenney's Ace Hardware(BACKYARD ONLY) (null)
- Wins it all in 23% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 400.62
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 1 | 1 | 3 | 533.7716 | 533.77 |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 337.6456 | 335.63 |
| 2022 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 353.1084 | 342.01 |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 344.6288 | 333.23 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 334.2520 | 334.25 |
| 2019 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 681.6344 | 539.26 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-09-03 | Rib Double Dip (2) (ONE MEAT RIBS) Chillicothe, IL | — | — | 1 (175.4172) | — | — |
| 2023-09-03 | Rib Double Dip (1) (ONE MEAT RIBS) Chillicothe, IL | — | — | 4 (170.2860) | — | — |
| 2023-08-25 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 9 / 26 (337.6456) | 16 (165.6684) | 5 (171.9772) | — | — |
| 2023-06-17 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 9 / 33 (333.6228) | 5 (169.6684) | 15 (163.9544) | — | — |
| 2022-10-14 | Best of the Midwest BBQ Union Grove, WI | 1 / 36 (345.6916) | 1 (171.9772) | 1 (173.7144) | — | — |
| 2022-06-24 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day One) Belvidere, IL | 1 / 36 (346.2400) | 3 (169.6800) | 1 (176.5600) | — | — |
| 2022-06-17 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (Backyard) Morris, IL | 1 / 23 (353.1084) | 1 (177.7028) | 2 (175.4056) | — | — |
| 2022-06-11 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 15 / 37 (329.6688) | 18 (164.5372) | 11 (165.1316) | — | — |
| 2022-06-10 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 6 / 39 (335.3600) | 6 (170.8228) | 11 (164.5372) | — | — |
| 2022-05-14 | BBQ, BLESSINGS & THE VFW (ONE MEAT RIBS) Oconomowoc, WI | — | — | 7 (159.9544) | — | — |
| 2021-10-22 | Best of the Midwest BBQ Union Grove, WI | 2 / 44 (333.6460) | 3 (166.2400) | 2 (167.4060) | — | — |
| 2021-10-16 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II Day 2 (BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 6 / 36 (339.9772) | 12 (167.4172) | 3 (172.5600) | — | — |
| 2021-10-15 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II Day 1 (BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 16 / 40 (327.4060) | 12 (166.2400) | 21 (161.1660) | — | — |
| 2021-06-12 | Bring'n Home the Bacon - Day 2 West Salem, WI | 4 / 45 (344.6288) | 3 (175.4516) | 10 (169.1772) | — | — |
| 2021-06-11 | Bring'n Home the Bacon - Day 1 West Salem, WI | 22 / 52 (320.5144) | 15 (165.1200) | 26 (155.3944) | — | — |
| 2020-10-16 | Best of the Midwest BBQ Union Grove, WI | 2 / 50 (334.2520) | 2 (166.2516) | 2 (168.0004) | — | — |
| 2019-10-11 | Central Illinois Bragging Rights(CIBR-BBQ) Arthur, IL | 20 / 43 (667.3024) | 12 (171.9884) | 17 (166.8228) | 32 (160.5256) | 20 (167.9656) |
| 2019-07-19 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown Peoria, IL | 1 / 40 (339.4400) | 2 (171.4400) | 2 (168.0000) | — | — |
| 2019-06-22 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 2 Belvidere, IL | 23 / 45 (666.2172) | 12 (170.2628) | 8 (172.0000) | 17 (168.5600) | 38 (155.3944) |
| 2019-06-14 | Hog Capital Challenge Kewanee, IL | 2 / 25 (341.6916) | 2 (170.8344) | 2 (170.8572) | — | — |
| 2019-05-03 | Route 66 Smoke Out Dwight, IL | 6 / 33 (681.6344) | 7 (173.1084) | 9 (167.9888) | 8 (170.8572) | 6 (169.6800) |
| Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival Backyard Competition Presented by Kenney's Ace Hardware(BACKYARD ONLY) Decatur, IL | 1 / 22 (533.7716) | 1 (176.6172) | 1 (178.8572) | 1 (178.2972) | — |
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #169 (279 pts) | #89 (731 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | — | — | #517 (447 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #27 (1006 pts) | #29 (1021 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | — | — | #1050 (140 pts) | — | — |
| 2021 ↗ | Backyard | — | #44 (794 pts) | #48 (734 pts) | — | — |
| 2020 ↗ | Backyard | — | #47 (234 pts) | #49 (234 pts) | — | — |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #870 (328 pts) | #801 (413 pts) | #816 (398 pts) | #948 (313 pts) | #942 (318 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1476 (130 pts) | #1842 (95 pts) | #1771 (110 pts) | #1185 (235 pts) | #1990 (60 pts) |